Stereo Hearts
by sourulfur
Summary: Stiles Stilinski dislikes Valentine's Day, though the cute cards from the kids he tutor are something even he can't deny. Somehow he gets talked into going to Lydia Martin's party, and somehow that all leads to everything changing. He might even get a date to prom with Derek Hale. What is his life?


The school was decorated in all shades of pink and red, accented with white. It made Stiles Stilinski scrunch up his nose after fumbling with the side doors he always came in through after his art class. Valentine's Day was his least favorite thing. It was all commercial and thoughtless, expected gifts. Roses were delivered to students who got them at lunch. Until then, the office looked like the flower shop between the flowers, small stuffed animals, and balloons. Stiles was just glad he was not an office aid. That would make him hate his life even more than he already did.

Stiles sighed inaudibly as he opened his locker, glancing down the hall to where all the popular kids were gathering while adjusting his glasses. The most popular kids in school, Laura and Derek Hale (twins who were as much alike as they were different), were listening as Lydia Martin talked about the party she was holding that evening. Stiles rolled his eyes and looked back to his locker to put up the sketchbook and pencil case he would not need for his next class. "Are you going?" his best friend, Scott McCall, asked him from his right, making him jump a little and turn to look at the other teen, earning himself a sheepish smile from the boy. "Sorry."

"Dude, don't sneak up on me like that," mumbled Stiles, adjusting the beanie on head absently before shutting his locker with a shake of his head. "What would _I _do at Lydia Martin's party?" Stiles had no place there, even if he was best friends with the co-captain of the lacrosse team. He wasn't unpopular, but he wasn't exactly one of the "cool kids", either. Stiles was happy where he was, and actually had quite a few friends in the group of the popular students, including Scott, Danny, and Derek Hale, himself. Besides, the principal of the thing was that he did not celebrate Valentine's Day. However, he did keep the valentines that the kids in the class he tutored for at the elementary school in the mornings had given him earlier, the paper reading "our class would knot be the same without you" that had been attached to a braided friendship bracelet that was tied around his left wrist made by the elementary class' teacher already taped up in his locker. Those were things he could not just ignore simply because he was not fond of the sad excuse for a holiday. Stiles loved those kids, and he had made them cookies that they would enjoy at their party that afternoon. He would definitely treasure the cards they had given him.

"You could have fun with the rest of us!" Scott insisted, continuing to question on Stiles not wanting to be at the party, not paying any mind to the other group of teens at the other end of the hall.

Laura Hale was not really paying attention to the conversation as she leaned against her boyfriend's side, idly twisting one of the red strands of her hair around a finger as she watched her brother, whose gaze was surreptitiously on Stiles Stilinski down the hallway. It was not a new thing, Derek watching Stiles, that was. She just wished that her younger, twin brother would do something about the crush he was harboring on the other teen; and, hopefully, on any day but that one. She was not especially close to Stiles, nor was her brother, but it was no secret to anyone that knew Stilinski at all that the teen was not a fan of Valentine's Day. "Nah, it's fine, Scott," she heard Stiles say as the younger two boys continued on their way to their next class. "Dad and I are just gonna watch a ton of crappy horror films tonight. He's actually got the night off."

She heard the soft sounds of their voices slowly start to fade away as they got farther from her, but she could could still hear them for longer than anyone around her, sans her brother. Dean squeezed her around the waist gently and the entire group started to make their way to the joint chemistry class that they were going to be late for, but Laura smiled brightly at her boyfriend and slipped away to walk arm-in-arm with her brother. "So," she said simply, waiting for him to pick up the conversation. Laura rolled her eyes when he simply lifted his brow in silent reply. "Y'know, high school's almost over, and I see you've _still_ not done anything about that crush of yours."

"Not you, too," Derek replied with a groan, reaching up to tug the brim of his hat down a bit lower on his head. Typically, students weren't allowed to wear caps to class, but having your mother as the principal tended to give you a bit of lenience with the dress code. Plus, Derek did not make much of a habit of it, just on occasion and typically after he had been up late the night before, training with a few members of the lacrosse team. Laura sent him a look that voicelessly told him that she had no idea what he was talking about, and the younger twin sighed heavily as they walked into the chemistry classroom. "Erica was on to me this morning, saying it was the 'perfect day' to do something and all that stuff."

"Uh, no it's _not_," scoffed Laura as she directed Derek to a station that they could share, shooting Dean an apologetic smile. He would understand that she needed some time to talk to her brother. "Stiles-"

"Doesn't like Valentine's Day. I'm aware."

"She is right about you needing to do something, though." Laura ignored her brother's plea that they not talk about it. "I've been quiet about this crush since I noticed it. You're lucky I haven't teased you about it more than I have. Seriously, I think you need to go for it, Derek. I think it'd be good, for both of you."

Derek shrugged a little and fell silent as their teacher came into the classroom, effectively ending the conversation. However, from the look in his twin's eye, Derek was sure that the conversation was far from over.

Meanwhile, across the school, Stiles was sitting in his second art class of the day (which was by far his favorite because he was allowed to use the paints while the other students were not). He was in an independent study course that focused on painting with different types of media, which contrasted from the class he had the period before as it was a focus on drawing and sketching in general. Scott was in the art room with him that hour, though Scott was taking a general Art I course.

"Stiles, you should be there tonight," Danny insisted from his spot at a table next to where Stiles had his easel set up. "Lydia Martin's parties are always amazing."

Stiles' brow lifted as he reached up to ruffle his hair, which only caused him to half-way knock off the beanie he wore, having forgotten it was there. "Why is everyone interested in getting me to go to some stupid _Valentine's Day_ party all of a sudden?" he questioned, mixing together red and blue with a little bit of white to make a pretty light purple to add to the scene he was painting on the art board set up on the easel. "I plan on enjoying having an evening with my dad, thanks. It's not often we get to talk anymore."

"Stiles, puh-_lease_," Scott all but whined, making his table partner, Isaac Lahey, roll his eyes with a faintly amused smirk. "Just this once? Do it for me? I feel like we've barely spent time together in ages."

"You'll just get distracted by Allison." Stiles' brow lifted once again before he furrowed it and focused on his painting, tipping his head to the side absentmindedly while humming some song he had heard on the radio earlier that day. After a moment, Stiles smiled a little, adding a bit more detail with a finer brush. "I'd rather not be the third wheel again; and, thanks, but no thanks, Danny. The last time I agreed to go on a blind date you set up, it was a _disaster_." Stiles smirked a little at the shocked expression on his friend's face at the fact that Stiles had made a comment before he had even opened his mouth. "Can I just not go and say that I did?"

It was Isaac's soft, almost unheard statement of having hoped Stiles would be there to talk to that Stiles practically melted and he smiled brightly at the curly-haired teen. "Yeah, alright; but, just for a little while, and you better dance with me while Danny's busy making sure Jackson's not out-douching himself."

There was a beat of silence before the four of them broke out in sniggered laughter as Scott mumbled about how wrong Stiles' statement had sounded. "Oops," the teen with glasses stated as he shrugged a little.

* * *

That evening, Stiles was the only one that had not changed before Lydia's party and she clicked her tongue against her teeth as she looked him over. "You're lucky you're the same size as my cousin," she stated, ripping off his beanie before handing it to Scott, who shoved it into his own hoodie pocket. "C'mon."

"What?" Stiles barely stuttered the word out before he found himself being dragged upstairs to Lydia's bedroom.

If anyone were to tell him even that morning that he would ever be in Lydia Martin's bedroom, he would have laughed in their faces. However, there he was, listening to her prattle on about how she understood his personal styling choices, but they were not acceptable at her party, no siree. That was how Stiles found himself in a pair of jeans that were tighter than he normally wore (though not _too _tight; they were still comfortable), and a fitted long-sleeved t-shirt that he pushed the sleeves up past his elbows for. Lydia used a small amount of styling gel to make his hair look more purposely rumpled and commented on how she was glad he had left the glasses at home. "Yeah, well, I'd only end up breaking them if I had brought them," replied Stiles, lifting his shoulders in a shrug as he let Lydia turn him so they could see his reflection in the full-length mirror she had.

Lydia grinned as she brushed her hair back out of her face and said, "There. That's much better. You look hot."

Stiles sputtered over his words, face flushing at least three different shades of red, and Lydia smirked as she ushered him out the door of her bedroom. She did not believe that Stiles had really needed the help to look good (he was adorable in that nerdy boy that you wanted to take home and keep look on his own), but it was her party, dammit, and she'd style him if she wanted to. Lydia followed him downstairs and smirked a little in amusement as Danny was the first one to see Stiles, and he gave a low whistle of appreciation. "Damn, dude," laughed Danny with a smile. "Who knew you had a shape under all that plaid?"

"Yeah, well, it's never been a secret," Stiles replied with a soft, slightly awkward laugh, reaching up to ruffle his hair, scrunching his face up a little at the feeling of the gel in it. Stiles was not embarrassed to show off the subtle muscles he had formed over the years through playing lacrosse and training with his friends. However, he just liked his clothing style of choice. It did not bother him any if it led people to believe he was frailer than he was. It gave an element of surprise if someone tried to physically pick on him.

Scott handed Stiles a red cup full of beer with a sheepish, apologetic smile for having let Lydia drag him off like that. "Once she gets an idea into her head, man," Scott said with a shake of his head, and Stiles nodded, knowing full well what the other teen meant.

With the cup in hand, Stiles made his way out back, where most everyone else was and there was music playing over a speaker system that Stiles couldn't see. He smiled when he spotted Isaac sitting over by himself and weaved his way over to the other teen. "Hey, Isaac," Stiles said with a smile as he sat down next to him. "Why aren't you with Danny?"

"He went to go grab us some drinks," replied Isaac as he looked Stiles up and down, raising an eyebrow a little. "What happened to you?"

There was a moment of silence between them before they both said, "Lydia," and chuckled softly with mirroring soft smiles. Even if Stiles absolutely hated the pink and frilly decorations and was not fond of most of the music played, just being able to see Isaac smile that made the evening worth it. It was not often he _really_ saw Isaac smile, and with as much as he worried about the other boy, it was nice to see him having a good time.

After Danny returned with Isaac's drink, Stiles stood up and tugged on Isaac's arm a little, smiling at Danny. "I'm going to steal your date for a few minutes," Stiles stated, not leaving room for argument as he took Isaac over to where some others were dancing, getting the curly-haired teen to join him. Danny just laughed softly and smiled as he went to find Jackson so that he could talk to his best friend.

He smiled to himself when he spotted Laura Hale talking with her boyfriend in the corner of the yard, both of them smiling and looking very happy. That had to mean that Derek was somewhere nearby, and Danny took it upon himself to look for the slightly older teen instead of Jackson, who was probably off somewhere with Lydia. "Hey, Derek," Danny stated when he spotted the baseball player in the kitchen, leaning against the counter while nursing a cup of the beer that Lydia had gotten a hold of, only receiving a slight grunt in response. "Stiles is here."

"I know," was Derek's simple reply.

"Oh, right, werewolf senses."

It was no secret to anyone in town that the Hale family was, for the most part, made up of werewolves. After the existence of the supernatural came to light when they were just children, it became rather easy to adapt. The adults still had difficulty sometimes, but it was the new generations that did not seem to care. Derek did not offer a response. He would have known Stiles was there, even if it weren't for his werewolf senses. Stiles' voice was not quiet and he had seen the other boy when Lydia had finally allowed him downstairs. "You should go dance with him," Danny said as he leaned against one of the other counters.

"He seems to be doing fine with Isaac." Derek's gaze was focused on the window above the sink, which overlooked the section of the backyard where everyone was gathering to dance.

"Yes, well, I would appreciate some time with my date tonight. Stiles is a great friend, but I don't share that well."

Derek chuckled a little, but made no movement and Danny sighed a little with a shake of his head. By the time Derek finally got outside, Stiles was more than a bit tipsy but not quite drunk and had danced with about half the party, including Allison and Scott (who had teamed up on him and left him in the middle which had been fairly awkward, but not too much since they had all been drinking, not that it actually effected Scott, but the other boy proved it was a lot of mind over matter). Stiles smiled lopsidedly as Derek came over to him and he laughed a little, saying, "Hey, Derek. I didn't know you were here."

Sure, he had known that it was highly likely that all the Hale children in high school were there, but the only one that Stiles had seen was Elijah (better known as Eli, and never called by his full name unless you were his mother). "Yeah, well, I had to make an appearance," Derek replied with that half smile that Stiles found himself more and more intrigued by every time he saw it.

"`Course," stated Stiles with a nod before laughing again, though he was not sure what was so funny. "You should dance with me. I mean, I want to dance. With you especially. I mean... d'you want to?"

Derek laughed softly and nodded a little with that half-smile that made Stiles smile even more. "Yeah, I do."

"Wicked. I mean, that's cool." Stiles grinned as Derek pulled him a little closer, ignoring the fact that he all but stumbled as the distance was closed between them. Neither one said a word as Stiles' hands rested on Derek's shoulders and they moved with the music that was playing rather loudly. It honestly surprised Derek that the local law enforcement had not busted up the party yet.

Stiles' breath was warm on the side of his face and Derek could smell the alcohol on it. He could barely hear the music or anyone around them over the sound of Stiles' heartbeat, focusing more on the other teen than anything else. It was a foolish move, letting his guard down like that; but, Stiles made him want to, always did whenever they were together. Stiles idly hummed along with the song playing, the fingers of one hand playing with the ends of Derek's hair at the base of the elder boy's neck. Stiles wanted to kiss him, but even with alcohol in his system, Stiles did not want to fall prey to something so classically cheesy. Valentine's Day was not a day for indulging on silly crushes, even if it was possibly clear for the first time that it might not be as one-sided as he had always thought.

"I should probably get you home," Derek stated a long while later, after Stiles had consumed more alcohol and the two of them had danced some more. It was well after midnight and the party was starting to thin out. Scott had already left with Allison, only because Derek had promised that he would get Stiles home safely.

"Yeah, I... yeah. Home is good," replied Stiles, slurring his words a little with a nod.

He smiled a little to himself as Derek chuckled and then led him out of the party. Stiles stumbled only a few times, but managed to never actually fall, if only because Derek was there to make sure it didn't happen. The ride to his place had Stiles sobering up a little more, and he grew increasingly more nervous to be alone with Derek Hale. He idly twisted the friendship bracelet around his wrist while bouncing his knee absently. Once they got to the house, Stiles smiled at Derek in thanks and said, "Uh, thanks for the ride. I'll see you at school."

"Stiles," Derek said as the other teen climbed out of the car, and in his rush to get out, the younger boy hadn't really heard him. However, Derek simply grabbed something out of the backseat of his car and followed Stiles to the door, making the other teen jump a little when he realized Derek was there after getting the front door unlocked. "You're nervous."

"Heh, I, yeah, I mean..." Stiles said with a sheepish smile, reaching up to ruffle his hair absentmindedly.

"I make you nervous?" Stiles was not exactly sure if it was a question or a statement, but he nodded a little in answer, and Derek smiled a little. "I didn't use to make you nervous."

Stiles let out a soft, slightly awkward laugh as he lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Yeah, well, I didn't use to have a cr-" His eyes widened as he cut himself off, realizing what he was admitting as his face flushed heavily. "I should, uhm, go. Yeah."

Derek caught Stiles' wrist with one hand, not letting the other teen disappear into the house. "I know you don't do the whole Valentine's Day thing, but I wanted to get you something," Derek stated, laughing softly at the completely confused expression that crossed Stiles' face. "And, it's technically not Valentine's Day anymore, so..." Derek handed Stiles the single, white rose and the homemade CD playlist that he had made for the younger teen, smiling once again as Stiles' brow furrowed and he let the other boy go.

"You made me a CD," he stated, looking down at the cover that stated what each song and artist was. They were songs that he had heard, didn't have, and liked or songs that he'd never heard of by bands he was not sure of. Stiles was not sure exactly how to react to that information. Derek Hale made him a playlist with songs that the elder boy thought he would like. He was more focused on that than the flower, although it was pretty.

"I figured you'd like some of them based on what music I know you like." Derek lifted his shoulders in a shrug, putting his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, growing a bit more nervous at the fact that he could not quite determine what Stiles' thoughts were.

Stiles laughed softly as a smile spread across his face, brushing his thumb along the numbers of the songs before looking up at Derek. "I, uhm... thank you. This is... Thanks."

"I was wondering, would you-?" Derek's question was cut off by the sheriff opening the front door, brow raising a little as he spotted the two teens standing there.

"Dad," groaned Stiles, trying to control the way that his heart had sped up, knowing that Derek could hear it. He wanted to know what the popular teen had been going to ask him, but judging by the look on his dad's face, that wasn't going to happen.

Sheriff Stilinski crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Stiles. Derek, I think it's time you got home, don't you? It is a school night."

Derek nodded a little and took a step away from Stiles. "I'll see you later," the elder teen said, smiling a little when Stiles returned the statement. He started to leave, but seemed to think better of it as he took a step closer to Stiles, despite the fact that his father was right there, and placed a kiss near the corner of his mouth.

Stiles' eyes widened in shock and he completely denied the unmanly almost squeaking sound that he made in response, watching Derek walk back to the black Camaro that the younger Hale twins shared. Sheriff John Stilinski cleared his throat a little and placed a hand on Stiles' shoulder as Derek drove off. "I think we should talk," John stated with a slight sigh before leading Stiles into the house.

"I, uh, what?" replied Stiles, blinking slowly as he followed his dad inside.

* * *

Stiles stood at his locker the next morning, absently ruffling his hair while he put up the books he would not need to take to the elementary with him. Tutoring first hour was his favorite part of the day. However, that morning, he was busy keeping an eye out for Derek, who was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, man," Scott said with a sheepish smile as he came up to Stiles' side. "Sorry that I disappeared last night. Derek said he'd get you home."

"Yeah, well, he did," replied Stiles, glancing down the hall to where the popular students usually conjugated. "I think he kissed me last night."

"You _think_? Isn't that something you should know?" Scott's brow furrowed a little as he watched his best friend toying with that bracelet around his wrist. Stiles shrugged and Scott leaned against the lockers. "What happened?"

"Dad interrupted us talking. Derek... he gave me a rose and made me a CD. I don't know what that means." Stiles ran a hand through his untidy hair, making it that much more unruly. "He kissed the corner of my mouth before he left, after dad interrupted him asking me something. I was going to talk to him this morning, but..." Stiles gestured to the blank spot in the hallway.

"Dude." Scott chuckled and shook his head with a fond smile. "Talk to him whenever he gets here."

Stiles sighed but nodded a little. He was not exactly sure what he would say to Derek, but he really wanted to talk to the other boy. He did not get the chance before he had to go to the elementary school, however, and he easily found himself distracted by the much younger students. They did arts and crafts that day, and by the time Stiles got back to the high school, he had glitter on his hands, the side of his neck, and the front of his shirt still. He had put a beanie on to keep from the possibility of any of his little terrors dumping glitter in his hair, but he did not take it off once he was back in the school.

He was gathering the things he would need for his first art class when he noticed Derek walking toward him. Stiles heart practically skipped a beat and he cursed himself silently because Derek could hear that, and from the smirk on Laura's face down the hallway, she could, too. "Hey, uh, I'm sorry about last night," Stiles said with a sheepish grin, reaching up to ruffle his hair, which only knocked the beanie he wore off kilter.

Derek chuckled a little and shrugged as he said, "It's fine. It was late. I was just going to ask you to prom."

"Oh, is that all?" Stiles smirked a little in amusement as Derek nodded in response. "I listened to the CD. Your taste in music isn't horrible."

"You're going to make me ask again, aren't you?"

Stiles grinned in response and nodded as he said, "Of course."

"Go to prom with me." Derek stepped closer to Stiles, whose brow rose and his lips twitched up into a smirk.

"That didn't sound like a request." Stiles grabbed the front of Derek's leather jacket with one glitter speckled hand thoughtlessly, but didn't pull away when he realized, nor did Derek seem to care.

He shook his head in response as he said, "It wasn't."

"Rude, and bossy. You can't always just order me around, y'know. I'm not..." Stiles let his words trail off as Derek leaned in enough to press a kiss directly onto his lips, keeping it lighter than either of them wanted and safely chaste just in case a teacher came down the hall. "Okay, maybe you can."

Neither boy paid any attention to the conversations going on around them. Scott insisted Danny owed him ten bucks, Danny and Laura both commented on how it was "about damn time they got their shit together", Lydia was smirking silently, and Jackson was torn between amusement and confusion.

"You're picking me up at seven," Stiles said with a smile, tugging Derek a little closer by the front of his jacket.

"Rude, and bossy."

* * *

**Happy V-Day to Carpatha. Hope you enjoyed this!**


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